Prosecutor wants death penalty in trooper shooting

Published: Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 1:31 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 1:31 p.m.

WAYNESVILLE, N.C. (AP) -- Prosecutors want to seek the death penalty in their case against a Florida man accused in the fatal shooting of a North Carolina Highway Patrol trooper, according to court documents.

The Asheville Citizen-Times reported Wednesday that Haywood County District Attorney Michael Bonfoey asked a judge to decide whether there is enough evidence to try Edwardo Wong II for capital murder. The judge has not yet scheduled a hearing.

Wong, 37, of Ormond Beach, Fla., is accused in the June 17 shooting death of trooper David Shawn Blanton Jr., 24. The trooper was shot during a traffic stop along Interstate 40 near Canton in western North Carolina.

Wong is charged with first-degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon.

In his filing, Bonfoey said the state has "evidence to support the existence of one or more aggravating circumstances" required for the death penalty in North Carolina.

One of the 11 factors is that the victim is a law enforcement officer, according to state law. Another is that a killer have history of violent crimes.

Wong spent seven years in a Florida prison for crimes including assault on a law enforcement officer.

In recordings of 911 calls released Tuesday, truckers can be heard on CB radios getting a description of the suspect's vehicle. They also formed a roadblock to help stop the vehicle.

Haywood County's emergency communications center released 22 minutes of recordings made of three calls on the night Blanton was shot.

The first call came from a trucker who said he saw the trooper in a struggle. In the background, the caller can be heard talking to other truckers on his radio asking them to get a tag number of the suspect's vehicle and a description. He tells the other truckers that he is on the line with 911.

The caller then tells the dispatcher the suspect's truck, pulling a car on a trailer, had gotten off the interstate and was heading north on a state highway.

The dispatcher asked if the interstate was open.

"All the big trucks, we got it shut down," he said.

Another caller waited two minutes while the phone rang at the 911 call center. Joey Webb, director of Haywood County's 911 center, said the lag in answering the call happened because the county's two dispatchers were on the line with two other callers.

Webb said the dispatchers decided against putting the other lines on hold to get the third call because they were getting crucial information about the suspect and the trooper.

In the minutes that the third caller waited, the dispatchers directed Canton police officers and Haywood County Sheriff's deputies to the pursuit of the suspect and rescue workers and the fire department to the scene of the shooting, Webb said.

When he got on the line with a dispatcher, the third caller pleaded for help fast while trying to comfort Blanton.

"The guy is laying on the ground," he said. "We need help, and we need it now. He is barely moving, laying face down. Hurry, hurry." The caller was also heard telling the trooper, "Hold on buddy, hold on buddy."

<p>WAYNESVILLE, N.C. (AP) -- Prosecutors want to seek the death penalty in their case against a Florida man accused in the fatal shooting of a North Carolina Highway Patrol trooper, according to court documents.</p><p>The Asheville Citizen-Times reported Wednesday that Haywood County District Attorney Michael Bonfoey asked a judge to decide whether there is enough evidence to try Edwardo Wong II for capital murder. The judge has not yet scheduled a hearing.</p><p>Wong, 37, of Ormond Beach, Fla., is accused in the June 17 shooting death of trooper David Shawn Blanton Jr., 24. The trooper was shot during a traffic stop along Interstate 40 near Canton in western North Carolina.</p><p>Wong is charged with first-degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon.</p><p>In his filing, Bonfoey said the state has "evidence to support the existence of one or more aggravating circumstances" required for the death penalty in North Carolina.</p><p>One of the 11 factors is that the victim is a law enforcement officer, according to state law. Another is that a killer have history of violent crimes.</p><p>Wong spent seven years in a Florida prison for crimes including assault on a law enforcement officer.</p><p>In recordings of 911 calls released Tuesday, truckers can be heard on CB radios getting a description of the suspect's vehicle. They also formed a roadblock to help stop the vehicle.</p><p>Haywood County's emergency communications center released 22 minutes of recordings made of three calls on the night Blanton was shot.</p><p>The first call came from a trucker who said he saw the trooper in a struggle. In the background, the caller can be heard talking to other truckers on his radio asking them to get a tag number of the suspect's vehicle and a description. He tells the other truckers that he is on the line with 911.</p><p>The caller then tells the dispatcher the suspect's truck, pulling a car on a trailer, had gotten off the interstate and was heading north on a state highway.</p><p>The dispatcher asked if the interstate was open.</p><p>"All the big trucks, we got it shut down," he said.</p><p>Another caller waited two minutes while the phone rang at the 911 call center. Joey Webb, director of Haywood County's 911 center, said the lag in answering the call happened because the county's two dispatchers were on the line with two other callers.</p><p>Webb said the dispatchers decided against putting the other lines on hold to get the third call because they were getting crucial information about the suspect and the trooper.</p><p>In the minutes that the third caller waited, the dispatchers directed Canton police officers and Haywood County Sheriff's deputies to the pursuit of the suspect and rescue workers and the fire department to the scene of the shooting, Webb said.</p><p>When he got on the line with a dispatcher, the third caller pleaded for help fast while trying to comfort Blanton.</p><p>"The guy is laying on the ground," he said. "We need help, and we need it now. He is barely moving, laying face down. Hurry, hurry." The caller was also heard telling the trooper, "Hold on buddy, hold on buddy."</p>